I sucked in a breath and let it out. Why was I such a coward? At least if I had faced my sister, I could have died with some dignity.
Water rushed past my ears as I buffed myself. The small thunderstorm of power within me had swelled to encompass a village. I raised my hand, and lightning sparked, stretching out in all directions before twisting as a dragon took shape. Out from my arm, a dragon of lightning emerged before splitting into two. The skin around my hand had charred black, but I couldn’t feel it; most likely, something in my arm was fried. Wings of lightning emerged from the creatures as they circled once before roaring and crashing down into the crowd. Lightning bursts filled my view with golden brilliance as I cried tears of shame.
“I’ve heard of this: when a man makes their first kill, they sometimes throw up or cry. That means thou art not a psychopath. Thy compassion for the lives around thou makes killing abhorrent. I can respect that my student believed he killed someone when, in reality, they were dead long before we arrived.” Black Rei said.
“Was it really too late for them?” I asked.
“Check your stats and see what you gained from thy slaughter. I heard it's often better when death has a purpose.”
Perks Gained
Slay an enemy 100 levels above you with lightning.
Heaven’s Spear: All lightning spells have piercing.
Slay an enemy 1000 levels above you with lighting.
Heaven’s Wrath: Equip Lightning Spells to any weapon; if unarmed, equip them to your body. When dealing damage, unleash spell effects on enemies.
“Piercing and a delivery system art not bad. Check out thy level; it's impressive even if thy xp was nerfed.” Black Rei said.
Atom lvl23
Perks
Ancient Seed: +5 increase to MP multiplier
Ancient Sprout: +5 Increase to MP Multiplier
Heaven’s Spear: All lightning spells have piercing.
Heaven’s Wrath: Equip Lightning Spells to any weapon. If unarmed, equip them to your body. When dealing damage, unleash spell effects on enemies.
Human: Welcomed in all human settlements and +2INT per level
Old Blooded: Gain access to Eldritch-only classes and gain +5WIS per level
Second Strike: All Lighting spells hit twice.
Spirit Seed: +5 Increase to MP Regen Multiplier
Spirit Sprout: +5 Increase to MP Regen Multiplier
HP: 2,300
MP 47,840
Stats
STR 10
DEX 10
VIT 10
INT 104
WIS 199
CHA 10
LUK 10
Black Rei coughed in her hand. “Nice, thou gained piercing before thy second class that’s one of the prerequisites to be effective in PVP. Otherwise, all thy attacks would be blocked by equipment. Anti-piercing enchantment art still a thing, but the spell should be useful until you max out your first class. Now we need more mobs to raise your strength; maybe we should try a little boss fight near the coast.” Black Rei said.
I was in agony. My head throbbed as the world faded out of focus. Beings with far too many eyes and mouths for my comfort dressed in colors my eyes had never laid upon seemed to be in an argument over me. My gaze turned to a creature dressed in yellow robes, and I lost control. I stretched out with my blackened hand, slowly flaking away to reveal red scabs as lightning crackled around my hand once more. There was a connection between myself and this strange space where even stranger entities dwelled. Swirling constellations of stars took notice of me as I screamed and unleashed my spell.
A heavy hand restrained me, and before I could do a thing, I was taken away from that place.
“Tis too early to challenge the raid bosses. Lore has told of connections to realms from power flows. Methinks thy sudden jump in power has formed such a connection. An NPC would hardly rely fully on the system fading for power.”
I wrestled with myself. There were two spell slots available to me, but if I trusted Black Rei, then I would wait until I reached lvl100 to gain spells of my own.
“What are we doing next?” I asked.
“Mayhap, we will test if thy inventory activates upon discovery of loot. Who but the high Devs know if an NPC can claim the vaunted position of loot mule without being a companion. Thy own drops will be most valuable to thee. I am taking back my own equipment to teach thee value.” Black Rei said.
I remembered the man asleep wearing a mask beyond the lights and wires. When I looked at Black Rei beyond the numbers there was a path to another world. I didn’t think Black Rei was here to begin with. Like gods were said to wield avatars, Black Rei used a body of numbers to interact with the world.
Walking down the ridge made me feel different than before. I didn’t feel quite as fragile and there was a power within me vast and on the edge of my senses. More than that, I felt like I could draw in more power at a moment's notice until the Dragon Lightning spell became negligible. Only there were drawbacks to my build, as Black Rei called it. I was lvl23 next to a lvl9999 adventurer. The difference in our power was the distance between heaven and earth.
Down the ravine, I saw a yellow tree with a wasp nest larger than my body, slowly wrapping around the middle of the tree. Other trees had little yellow spots on them, much like our own apple tree.
“Tis important not to bother such structures until a quest is given. Methinks such a quest will assist thee in gaining levels. The King in yellow has spawned in this land and invited into the dreams to retake lost lambs to his home in Carcosa. Thou will know them by the yellow rot.” Black Rei said.
“How strong do I need to be to defeat the king in yellow?” I asked.
“With the right equipment, 1000 should see to a victory with order type spells under thy command. The Kings are low-tier raid bosses, but they can grow stronger given time. Methinks many of the patches the high DEVs put in place have eroded. As time draws to a close, raid bosses become unbound by limitations.” Black Rei said.
“How do I reach its home in Carcosa?”
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